Southern Moon Smokehouse – Photo Tour

Brought to you by the founders of Fork In The Road, Chef Bryce Baluff and Nelson Hom, the recently opened Southern Moon Smokehouse on Curry Ford  Road brings classic barbecue like pulled chicken, smoked beef brisket and ribs with home made sauces to the Conway neighborhood. The location was most recently home to Holy Smokes Barbecue restaurant.

I recently visited with our friend Chris Roberts of EatLocalOrlando.com, and left mostly impressed, especially with the house smoked ribs and the house made sauces. The service was excellent as well – our server was knowledgeable and friendly throughout the meal.

You can pick from the “meaty” menu items such as smoked St. Louis style ribs, pulled chicken, pork shoulder, sliced brisket, pork belly, beef short ribs, and for our vegetarian friends, pulled/chopped jack fruit. The sides range from the typical favorites like mac and cheese (really good), baked beans, braised greens, slaw, fried green tomatoes, and more.

They just opened so there are still a few things to be completed – the brewery next door, for one, is still under major construction.

Menus are not printed, but rather they are written on the large chalkboards on the walls at Southern Moon, making you have to turn your head awkwardly around to look at the menu to order depending on where you are seated. The prices for the menu items, particularly the sides, seem to be a bit high above the norm for the working class neighborhood area. It would be nice to have a combination option where you could pick a meat and a side or two for under $10.00. Or maybe have half-portion prices for the sides for those who don’t want to share with their dining companions.

The housemade sauces makes everything at Southern Moon Smokehouse standout –  ranging from a smokey Texas style, Kansas City sauce, Alabama White sauce, Carolina Gold Mustard sauce, and a spicy barbecue.

Overall, my favorites were the St. Louis ribs and the mac and cheese. I thought the breading on the Fried Green Tomatoes, although different, was a bit too dry for me. The pork shoulder and beef brisket were similarly a bit too dry, but improved with a little dabbling with the house made sauces.

I will return again soon to try more dishes as I do believe there is great potential for Southern Moon to rise and shine.

“Better Q and Better Brew open now.”

https://www.facebook.com/southernmoom